Weekly Top 5 - Brad's Top Franchises

In order and with no surprises:

5. Metal Gear Solid – Ever since I played the very first demo of the very first MGS game, I knew something great had been created. With every new game Hideo Kojima has managed to blend revolutionary new gameplay mechanics with characters and story so off the wall that the now long-running series always seems fresh and exciting. Perhaps the highlight of the series is its amazing boss encounters. You can expect to see a Top 5 Boss Fights in the future but don't be surprised if most, if not all, come from this series.

4. Tekken - Ah, the only fighting game I care about, and the only fighting game I'll ever need. In my peak playing years I've burned through hundreds of dollars playing Tekken Tag Tournament in the arcade. Not because I was bad, but because I was playing some of the best in the country. I got good the hard and painful way but it paid off. This series is what I believe to be the perfect blend of accessibility and depth. Easy to pick up, hard to master, and very well respected in the competitive arena. The series just does a very good job up capturing numerous and some very crazy fighting styles. Beware of my Julia.

3. The Legend of Zelda – If someone polled the gaming population, you might find that LoZ is the most beloved games series of all time. With the exception of the controversial The Legend of Zelda: The Adventures of Link way back on the NES this very long running series of about a dozen games has never had a game that wasn't outstanding. From system to system, console to hand-held, and 2d to 3d, the games are aways great and I always have a great time. Also the main reason I put up with David's Nintendo fanboy crap. A Link to the Past is still be best Zelda game ever released and Ocarina of Time is still very overrated.

2. Castlevania (2d) - Pound for pound I almost rate this my top favorite series of all time. I got into the series with Castlevania: Symphony of the Night back on the Playstation and have since played every Castlevania release. Every single game released since Koji Igarashi took the reigns has been pretty great. The only real weak link in the 5 Castlevania games released since SotN was one underwhelming GBA title Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance.

1. Final Fantasy - No surprises here. With a whopping 4 games (almost 5) from this series in my top 20 games of all time (Final Fantasy 10, 7, 6, and Tactics), this series has to be in my number 1 spot. The series has had its ups and downs over the years (I cringe when I think about Final Fantasy 10-2) but Final Fantasy is a force to be reckoned with. Even people who don't play RPGs recognize the name. This is the series that got me into RPGs and made me the hardcore geek I am today.

There you have it. The truly amazing thing here is that 4 out of 5 of these franchises are getting a new installments this fall with the other next year. Truly a great time to be a video game player.